Indonesia and Brazil have agreed to settle their dispute over chicken meat import restrictions at the World Trade Organization (WTO), following a meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and his Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva recently in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The meeting’s joint communication revealed that the lawsuit Brazil launched against Indonesia in 2014 became a subject of discussion during the amicable interactions.
Brazil at the time challenged Jakarta’s restrictions on its poultry meat exports, which the Latin American economy accused of having broken global trade rules. The case, also known by its code DS484 at the WTO, is now under appeal.
Mr Prabowo and Mr Lula “acknowledged the commitment to a swift conclusion of a mutually agreed solution regarding the bilateral dispute in the WTO on the import of poultry products,” the joint communication reads.
“They underscored that transparent, open, reliable, non-discriminatory and uninterrupted international trade in agriculture is fundamental for global food and nutrition security.”
The document showed that the leaders had agreed to facilitate greater market access for Indonesia-bound Brazilian beef.
Before the meeting, the two BRICS economies inked a memorandum of understanding on sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
Story of the chicken case
In 2017, the WTO ruled in favor of Brazil in the chicken case, demanding that Jakarta permit Brazilian poultry products to enter. Jakarta, however, continued to keep its domestic market closed to Brazilian imports.
This ruffled Brazil’s feathers, prompting them to request the WTO to set up a compliance panel about two years later, demanding that Indonesia follow the court’s decision.
In late 2020, Indonesia filed an appeal against the compliance report, further putting the lawsuit in limbo as the WTO’s dispute settlement system remains hamstrung to this day.
The US has been blocking new appointments of judges to the appellate body since 2017 and is unlikely to change its mind under the Donald Trump 2.0 administration.
The leaders did not specifically talk about the chicken dispute during the joint press conference, although Mr Lula referred to the WTO.
“We both support rules-based trade, centered on the WTO,” Mr Lula said.
The Brazilian politician also said that both countries showed how they could “defend economic interests through dialogue and mutual respect” amidst increasing protectionism, alluding to the US tariff hikes.
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of chicken meat, something that archipelagic Indonesia is already self-sufficient in.
Indonesia’s Agricultural Ministry announced recently that Indonesia’s broiler chicken meat demand stood at 3.87 million tons in 2025, while supplies could reach 4.35 million tons. This translates into a 480,000-ton surplus.